There are many reasons to go for therapy but sometimes we can just have simply a heavy heart or feel a little lost- even though everything is going great in life.

Those of us who are in therapy or work training circles will know of Maslow and his Hierarchy of needs- (It’s rather like Aromatherapies’ Lavender equivalent- a basic).

But for those who do not, I shall just give a little blog about it -as I use it as a core principle in Hypnotherapy, as I very much believe in having a background of counselling to be a good Hypnotherapist. I also believe that rolling my sleeves up and getting the work done as efficiently as possible is the mark of a good Hypnotherapist.

It's like the computer game of life, or snakes and ladders- You begin at the base level; Physiological needs, and once those needs are covered then you can move up a level....And so on. Of course people can 'skip' levels but in my experience, what comes with skipping levels is an 'emptiness' of sorts, or simply feeling something 'wanting'.

Each level of work puts different demands on us to grow and whenever we do feel that "wanting' or that 'emptiness' we can look at the levels and see what we have missing.

For example, if a person isn't getting the sleep that they want (or more so need), that becomes the primary focus to change; It is the first question I will always ask myself in this busy life, and a great starter.

Are YOU getting enough sleep? And of course for those of us who haven't got a stretch of insomnia, it is the first and easiest thing to do something about. Turn off that screen and go to bed. Problems become much more manageable when we sleep better and then, when we eat healthier.

And like a glass ceiling, if these aren't tackled we will keep bouncing back to the level before.

Boring but true.

The self-esteem glitch.

We are very good at doing what we are good at, and so we adapt to our 'strengths' (whether we like them or not), because it is safer than the uncertainty of maybe getting things wrong, consequently in time, we can be so far removed from where we first started, that we don't feel 'ourself' and once we recongnise that empty feeling we can work to refocus and remember what we have missed doing; because even though we loved doing it, we weren't that good and gave up.

So why not do something simply for the pleasure of doing it, even if the results may be less than glamorous? Lets find our true selves and enjoy the moment rather than the result.

The opposite end of the spectrum is 'self actualisation', and usually occurs in life, when we have 'achieved' everything; What now? What next? After years of service we retire, or the children fly the nest and we face new and different goals and challenges- What is our own sense of purpose when we have spent decades caring for others? Where do we look for a new sense of purpose? This is where, again, we can feel lost or feel the pain of, "Money isn't everything". When we think, yep, every box is ticked and realise that the material stuff just isn't enough.

The great thing I love about being a Hypnotherapist; is that the answers are ALWAYS there; side by side with the problem; and using the skills learnt from training and experience I can help to give you the space to see what is going on, and hopefully solve it.

Don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean that I am problem free, Hell no! Like everyone, I am blind to my own problems and therefore solutions, and when I suffer; I too see a professional to help me see what I am missing and find a solution.

I could, if I had a car problem, for example, fix it myself and look for the problem with my untrained eye, then find the solution, then fix it with my untrained hand, of course I could! But it would just take longer.... A really long time... Because I am A) Not interested in cars and how they work and B) Believe that I am no good at fixing cars. I just like driving them.

The same goes with our minds, if theres a problem no matter how big or small, go see a specialist to get it fixed.